


no return

by sadomasochism



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Avengers, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:23:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadomasochism/pseuds/sadomasochism
Summary: After Ragnarök, Thor and Loki have taken up residence at the Avengers compound in upstate New York. Drama ensues, of course.





	1. new recruit

**Author's Note:**

> hi wow this is my first attempt at something like this, fueled by the fact that i am still mourning the death of loki, who is alive. here we go, i suppose. first chapter's a baby. also, this is pretty much an avengers AU where the russo brothers didn't ruin all the character development of everyone (especially our favorite odinsons) and infinity war hasn't happened... yet. please let me know what you'd like to see bc i'm ready to give us all the avengers we deserve.

“What exactly are we watching?” Natasha asked, leaning forward in her swivel chair. She was just ever so slightly irritated that Tony interrupted her morning training session.

“Footage! This is leaked footage of a raid in the Philippines! I saw it this morning on Reddit!” Peter Parker yelled, jumping up and down and pointing at the screen. He spilled the hot chocolate he was holding in the process. One of Tony’s cleaning robots immediately zoomed forward to mop it up. "An agent pretends to get shot and when their team comes to check up on ‘em they blast everyone on the team!”

"How did this even get on Reddit?!" Dr. Banner was disturbed, to say the least. He took his glasses off, rested them on the table, and rubbed his temples. Ink smeared from his fingers to his face. Natasha handed him the handkerchief sticking out of the breast pocket of his lab coat. “I have so many questions. So many. The first one is, why are we watching this?”

“Because we have a new recruit,” Tony answered, fast forwarding through the clip to show the team the part he liked the most. He hit pause, and took a swig of his fourth coffee of the day. This one had a shot of Jagermeister in it. The kid was really wearing him down. “Army can’t handle ‘em, so now it’s our job.”

“To foster another murderer?” Clint asked, avoiding eye contact with Loki, who rolled his eyes. “One is enough.”

“We’re past that!” Thor cheered, good-natured as ever. He punched his younger brother in the shoulder. “You know that my brother was mind-controlled by Thanos. Loki is good. Deep down, at least.”

“If you say so, brother,” Loki muttered, reshuffling the Rubik’s cube Sam had taken weeks to solve. It was no Tesseract, but it would do.

“Sure, but are they?” Bucky pointed at the screen with his human finger. “I mean, is she? Good? Or is she a murderer?”

“You’re one to talk,” Loki quipped.

“I was mind-controlled too!”

Everyone on the team craned their heads toward the image. Sure enough, the cold eyes of a young woman locked with the body camera of the soldier recording. Tony hit play. Her voice came on the speakers, sending shivers throughout the conference room. It was soft and low, with a slight rasp. “It didn’t have to be this way and you know it.” Then the footage went black.

“That’s Persephone Black. Code name: Phantom. Youngest Army Delta Force in history. Hundreds of confirmed kills. Highly skilled in both armed and hand-to-hand combat. Specializes in stealth and reconnaissance. Graduated top of her class at West Point. Has a history of problems,” read Steve from the file folder in his hands.

“What kind of problems?” Dr. Banner asked. “Please tell me the good kind.”

“Behavioral,” Tony said, looking Loki straight in the eye, before looking at Steve. “They’ve wanted to discharge her since the moment she signed up, but she’s too good for them to decommission.”

“But like what kind of behavioral problems?” Natasha asked. Clint nodded in agreement. “Like fighting?”

Tony grabbed the file from Steve, scanning the page quickly. “Insubordination, aggression, et cetera. Standard rebellion.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would she join the Army if she wasn’t going to follow orders, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, wiping off the hot chocolate from his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

“Why are you an Avenger if you never listen to me?” The others stifled a laugh. IronDad was coming into the fore. “Now, please, I can’t believe I’m asking all of you this, but be nice.”

“Oh, like how you all were so kind to me when I first started… living here?” Loki deadpanned. “I think giving her a hard time would do her some good. I mean, look how I turned out.”

Without blinking, Tony replied, “Terribly. Be nice, Reindeer Games. Rhodey’s flying her in on the Quinjet. They should be in soon.”

As if on cue, FRIDAY announced, “Quinjet landing in BAY 1.”

“We must go greet the new recruit!” Thor grinned, shaking Loki by the shoulders. The younger brother rolled his eyes and teleported them into the landing bay. The rest of the team took the elevator. 

Rhodey disembarked from the ship, his ward in tow. She was petite, with obsidian black hair and eyes to match. Her wrists were cuffed and clearly bruised. She had cuts on her cheekbones and lips, but it was clear she put up a hell of a fight. Loki felt a pang of sympathy for the girl, who looked more like an abandoned kitten than the cold-blooded killer they had painted her to be. He could see it in her tired eyes.

“Hello!” said Thor, smiling so wide his eyepatch touched his eyebrow. “You must be Lady Persephone.” He reached out his hand to shake hers, but retracted it once he noticed the handcuffs. “Oh. My apologies. Someone please release her, this is no way to treat a guest!”

The corners of her mouth quirked up ever so slightly, and her hands glowed purple. The handcuffs shattered into pieces on the floor. She took his hand anyway. “Hi, Thor.”

Rhodey frowned, scratching his head. “You could have done that the entire ride over here.”

She nodded knowingly, crushing the remnants of the handcuffs under her feet. “Yeah, but Logan said to show you some respect, so I did.”

Loki smiled. “I like her already.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” she muttered, rubbing the red marks on her wrists. “I could be just like you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Hi!” Peter yelled, worming his way to the front of the group. Tony made a mental note to give the kid less sugar. “Hi, I’m Peter, but you can call me Spider-Man. Wait, no, that’s wrong. I mean, I’m Spider-Man, but you can call me Peter.”

She squinted, processing the boy towering in front of her. “You look more like a… Spider-Boy. Baby-faced, and all.”

“Hey I’m almost eighteen-“

Tony held up a hand to silence Peter. “Can it, kid. Come on, we’ve got to bring her in for testing.”

Everyone was buzzing with excitement now, following Tony and Persephone to the basement and into the lab as they each tried to get a word in with the new girl. She gave short, clipped answers but was polite and quiet. No one noticed that she wasn’t making eye contact. No one, that is, except for everyone's favorite God of Mischief.

“You’re being very compliant,” Loki commented as Tony directed her to lay on the examination table. He made his way to stand by her other side, and helped her remove her denim jacket.

She shrugged, eyes up on the ceiling. “Thanks. It’s not like I have much of a choice. It was either this or jail.”

Tony tapped away at a screen before motioning for everyone to stand back. “FRIDAY, run physical scan.”

A blue laser ran over Persephone’s body several times. “Scanning. Compiling data. Analyzing.”

“Results?”

“Five foot three, one hundred and sixteen pounds and seven ounces. Several fractures currently healing. High bone density, rapid pulse, increased regeneration rate, low body temperature.”

Steve turned to Persephone, his interest finally piquing. “Are you a super-soldier, too?”

“Were you hit by gamma radiation?” Banner asked, putting his glasses on.

“I... I don’t know. I don’t think so.” She cracked her knuckles one by one. Then she sat on her hands, one leg starting to bounce. Loki wondered how someone so seemingly ruthless carried themselves in such a pitiful manner. "Sorry. I don't know much about what's wrong with me."

“She also shows signs of abuse,” FRIDAY added. This answered Loki’s question. “Along with low serotonin levels, damage to the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.”

Persephone frowned, although it didn’t look much different on her face. She tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. This resulted in her staring at her beat-up black Converse. “Uh, did you have to tell everyone that, FRIDAY?”

“My apologies.”

The other Avengers looked sheepish as they scrambled out of the room, mumbling about tasks they had to get back to. Only Tony, Thor, and Loki remained. She began to protest, but Tony said, “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure depression isn’t an Asgardian thing.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Your idiocy never ceases to astonish me, man of steel.”

“For the last time, it’s Iron Man!”

Persephone laughed for the first time. Loki stiffened. He’d never heard a sound as pleasant. Thor ruffled her hair fondly. “Look! She is friendly after all.” He pinched her cheek. She blushed.

“Who said I wasn’t?”

“Your file,” Loki answered, before Tony could say anything. “Which also said that you are vicious, cunning, and ruthless. Were they lying?”

She scowled at him. The building shook. “You do not know who I am, God of Lies.”

“Sure I do. They call you the Phantom.”

And then everything went dark. Tony screamed.

“FRIDAY!”


	2. phantom of the compound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmmm we're getting longer

During the blackout, Loki stalked off into the library, leaving Tony and Thor still in the lab with a very guilty Persephone. Tony was running more scans on her, while Thor, ever the friendly giant he was, continued to make conversation with the girl.

“How old are you?” the God of Thunder asked, taking a bite out of an apple he had found in Tony’s refrigerator. He frowned and stuck the entire apple in his mouth, chewing like a content horse.

Persephone resisted the urge to make that comment out loud. “Uh, more than 20 for sure.”

“You do not know your nameday?” Thor asked, scooting his tiny chair closer to her.

She shook her head, her matted hair sticking to her face. “I’m an orphan.”

“No one adopted you?” Another head shake, this one even less excited. “That’s nonsense! If you were Asgardian, there is no doubt in my mind that my mother and father would have taken you in.”

“And used you as a political pawn,” Loki snapped, stepping out of the shadows, arms crossed. “And lied to you your entire life.”

“Easy, brother,” Thor said, raising a hand out to stop Loki before realizing he was about to summon Stormbreaker. He closed it into a fist and dropped it back to his side.

“I honestly think I had it easier than Loki, Thor. No offense or anything,” Persephone mumbled, kicking her legs that dangled off the exam table as she picked at the scabs on her knuckles. “Growing up alone meant no one could hurt me except myself, and I think I did a pretty good job on my own.”

Loki’s chest twisted a little at that, and it disgusted him. But he said nothing; he knew that Thor, unlike him, knew better than to press where it hurt.

“Arm, please.” Tony took her forearm, swabbed the skin at the junction of her elbow with alcohol, and inserted a needle into her vein. The two gods looked away in disgust.

“What, you two have fought in wars but can’t watch a blood test?” Persephone laughed as Tony briskly filled two vials with blood samples and screwed them shut. “Jesus, you guys are weird. We’ve all seen worse.”

“At least I do not reek of sweat and gunpowder,” Loki said, nose upturned and brow furrowed. He towered over her, standing or not. “You could stand for a bath.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and they all swore the lights flickered a little bit. Tony knew that she could override FRIDAY’s systems, but hoped that Persephone wasn’t any the wiser. “I just spent three days in a jail cell in the fucking Philippines and got the shit kicked out of me by the Unit after I unfroze them. So sorry if I don’t smell like fucking incense to you.”

At that moment, her nose started to bleed, a steady stream down her lips and into her lap.

“Lady Persephone-“ Thor began, frantically looking for something to clean her with.

She brushed him off with one hand, the other pinching her nose. “I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s just— I get these... when I’m... stressed.”

And then she passed out.

—

“What do you guys think of the kid?” Natasha asked, holding the punching bag in place for Steve. “She seems alright.”

“I’m pretty sure she was the one who cut the power ten minutes ago,” Sam said as he folded up the agility ladder. “But yeah, I don’t know about all that stuff they read in her file. Maybe she’s just chickenshit.”

“LANGUAGE.”

Bucky shook his head, unwrapping the cloth wound around his human hand. “I doubt it. They wouldn’t send her here if she were.”

“I’m with Bucky on this one,” Steve said through his punches. “She looks like trouble.”

“Don’t you think that maybe we’re being too hard on her either way?” Nat grit her teeth as Steve’s blows became stronger and stronger. “Like, come on. Look at Loki.”

“I try not to,” Sam quipped, and moved to join Natasha to help stabilize the bag. Bucky laughed.

Natasha rolled her eyes, putting her full weight against the bag. “Just give her a chance. All of us got another one.”

—

Peter Parker was nothing short of an odd boy, but that’s what the God of Mischief liked about him.

“Spiderling.”

“Yes, Mr. Loki?” Peter asked, backing up and walking into the empty living room that the Trickster had decided to occupy.

He shut his book and set it on the coffee table. Then he leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, legs spread. “What news do you have of the girl? Is she alright?”

“She’s sleeping in her room right now. Mr. Stark says she needs rest. I can go wake her up if you like, since it’s almost family dinner time.”

“No, no. Leave her be.”

“It’s okay Mr. Loki, I was going to go wake her up anyways. See you later!”

And with that, Peter headed to the top floor west wing. All the Avengers had their own suites — a spacious room and private bathroom, and Peter knew from helping Mr. Stark and Mr. Thor take Persephone upstairs that she was in the room at the end of the hall, between Loki and Thor and across from the room Peter stayed in when he wasn’t at school or trying to be a normal teenager.

He knew FRIDAY would scan his biometrics anyway, but he knocked to be polite.

“Miss Phantom?” he called. She was a scary lady even though she looked like she could be his older sister.

The mechanical door hissed open, and Peter walked in to find the former Delta Force agent sitting up in bed, watching the Food Network on her giant flat screen TV.

“Hi, Spider-Boy,” she said. She made space for him on the bed, but he shook his head and said he wouldn’t take long. “What’s up?”

“Dinner’s in an hour, I thought I’d let you know so you could get ready or something. Mr. Stark told me Mr. Loki made fun of you and said you smelled bad.”

Persephone snorted. “Yeah, he did. What a clown. I’ll be down later, thanks for letting me know.” She smiled, and as Peter began to walk away, he thought she was really pretty for someone who was so good at killing people. She reminded him of his other spider friend, Black Widow.

“Oh, and Miss Phantom?” he said, turning around at the doorway.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Loki was asking about you.”

She knew better, but she couldn’t resist. “What... what did he say?”

“He was asking if you were okay.”

—

Persephone couldn’t remember the last time she had bathed, and not in the way idiots at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s had the audacity to say “I haven’t taken a shower since last year!”, but in a way that was more, “I’ve been running through one of the hottest fucking islands in Asia for a week straight trying to stop my team from raiding the village that raised me”.

So it was easy to say that she deserved a long shower and a meal. The past month had taken a toll on her more than her 20-something years of nonstop existing did.

She was tired of running.

She stepped into the stall and turned the water on, taking care to scrub herself down and wash her hair to get all of the blood out of it. She told FRIDAY to remind her to change her bedsheets later that night, to which the system replied that it had already been done for her.

“Huh. I could get used to this.”

“You should,” said the computer. “You’re family now.”

“FRIDAY!” she yelped and instinctively covered her body. “I didn’t think you were still here.”

“I’m always here. That’s the whole point.”

Huh. A family. That didn’t sound too bad.

She got out of the shower and dried herself, noting that Mrs. Potts-Stark had probably been the one who stocked the bathrooms. Otherwise Tony would have most likely given everyone that 3-in-1 shampoo-conditioner-body wash bullshit that Army guys (and just guys in general) swore by.

“Fuck. Do I have any clothes?” she muttered, padding back into her bedroom wrapped in a towel, with a trail of wet footprints behind her.

“Yes, you do,” FRIDAY answered, and Persephone yelped. The closet doors opened.

“Holy fuck! FRIDAY, could you not do that?”

“For a soldier, you’re quite jumpy. Mr. Stark has provided you with a new wardrobe.”

“With underwear?”

“With underwear.”

Persephone sighed. “That’s fine, I guess. As long as he didn’t choose them himself. Ew.”

—

Everyone was already sitting at the table, waiting for dinner to be served when Persephone walked in. Her shoes squeaked on the linoleum. Immediately, all engrossed conversation stopped, and everyone was staring at her.

You’re a fucking soldier, dude, come on. You’ve killed so many people, she thought. Can I be next?

Her cheeks burned. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn a dress. But then again, she was tired of having to “man up”. Change was long overdue.

“Sorry, am I late?” she asked.

Peter, jaw hanging open, shook his head.

“Close your mouth, Spiderling, before I do it for you,” Loki said before he took a bite of table bread. Persephone shuffled to the only empty seat beside him. “Good evening.”

“Hello,” she mumbled. Loki was expecting something more, but she immediately turned to Thor beside her and asked him how he was enjoying Midgard.

What about how Loki was enjoying Midgard?!

“Oh, it’s fantastic! We did not have Twinkies on Asgard.”

She laughed. “You like Twinkies? Wait till you try Cosmic Brownies.”

“Cosmic brownies, you say? I’ll have ten!”

“Brownies?”

“Boxes!”

Persephone turned to Loki. He refused to admit to himself that he was relieved. What good was attention from a mortal, albeit a captivating one?

“What about you, Loki? You should try them with Thor and me. I’ll ask Tony if we can get go get some tomorrow.”

He was about to make a snide remark, but he was unlucky enough to glance at Thor, who used his one good eye to warn him against it. “I would- I would not be opposed. It would do me good to get out of here for once.”

She smiled, and oh how Loki would agree to hang out with his oaf of a brother more if it meant she would keep that look on her face.

Wait... what?!

“Nice dress, Ghostface,” Tony interrupted from the head of the table. “So sorry I forgot to put a hood and a scythe in your closet.”

“Very funny, Ironing Man. Let me know when you’re finished pressing my cape,” Persephone said, reaching for Thor’s glass. The table shook with laughter.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were-“ Loki began, but it was too late. The look on her face said it all.

“Jesus, Thor, is this drain cleaner?”

“No! It is Asgardian mead.”

“It’s fucking strong is what it is, and I’ve had prison wine before.”

“LANGUAGE!”

She blushed, although it may have been from the alcohol.

“So, Persephone, why do they call you Phantom?” Bruce asked.

She put her fork and knife down. “Can it wait until after dinner?”

Everyone turned to Tony.

“Let the kid eat, guys, come on.”

—

Sure enough, everyone gathered in one of the training gyms on the ground floor of the compound.

Tony clapped his hands. “Okay, FRIDAY, start rolling.”

“Initializing video recording.”

He turned to Persephone, who was unlacing her shoes. “Ready, kid?”

She kicked her boots off and nodded. She smoothed her long hair back into a ponytail. “Don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“Absolutely not. We had dinner, time for the show.”

She sighed. “Of course.” Then she walked to the other end of the cleared gym, and asked FRIDAY to begin the stealth simulation. Holograms of soldiers appeared around the gym as the lights went out. An obstacle course rose out of the floor.

“Objective: Reach the opposite end of the gym without being detected.” Persephone cracked her knuckles, and within one minute she had reached the other side. The lights flickered back on. “Objective completed.”

“What? I swear to God I just saw you over there!” Peter said, resisting the urge to jump off the ledge he was standing on.

“Is that all?” Sam asked, a smirk on his face. “Nice party trick, kid.”

Without so much as moving her hands, he was punched in the stomach. “Wanna go a round?”

He turned to Bucky, Nat, and Steve, who shrugged. Clint motioned for him to move. “Alright,” Sam said, warming himself up. “I’ll go easy on you.”

“Is this safe?” Bruce asked Tony, who laughed.

“Probably not. Kid’s strong. Read the rest of her files, apparently she’s got a whole bunch of different powers. Doesn’t seem to realize it.”

“Sure you can fight in that, kid?” Sam asked. “I can wait for you to go change.”

Persephone shook her head, and smoothed out the front of her long floral dress. It instantly clung to her body and morphed into a black stealth suit, complete with a Grim Reaper-style hood. When Sam looked at her, her face was gone. In its place was a black void.

“What the-“ Peter gasped, on the edge of his seat. He’d already begun chewing his fingernails.

“Ready, Falcon?”

Sam hid his gulp. “Sure thing, kid.”

“On your move... Ladies first.”

The two circled one another before Sam struck first, a roundhouse kick to her ribs. Persephone blocked it, catching his foot and twisting it hard and fast. Sam flipped, and with the other leg he tried to flash kick her on the way down. She dodged it by leaning so far that she did a backflip and landed on her feet, behind Sam who was still trying to get his bearings.

He turned around and charged her, catching her abdomen with his shoulder but she kicked upwards and swung her legs, catching his neck in a headlock between her thighs. They rolled to the ground; Sam pinned her down and attempted to hold her wrists. Persephone drove her knee all the way up into his solar plexus and as he groaned in shock and pain she slid out from under him and planted her foot square on the small of his back.

“Oh, I like her,” said Loki.

Thor grinned. “I know, brother.”

—

After everyone had retired for the night, Persephone paced around her room, still trying to get used to her new surroundings. Tony had handed her a set of car keys and told her to knock herself out.

“You know how to drive, right?”

“And fly fighter jets, yeah.”

“Don’t do anything I would do, kid. Good night.”

“Night, Stark.”

So there she was, unable to get some sleep. She put on a pair of sweatpants but stayed braless under her plain white t-shirt, figuring no one would be up right now. Then she took the keys and headed out.

She walked through the long hallways, not even having to try to make any noise. That, of course, did not stop the God of Mischief from sensing her presence as she approached the lounge at the end of the west wing.

“Lady Phantom,” Loki called as she whisked by him without so much as a passing glance. She stopped in her tracks, willing the blush spreading across her face to go away. Yes, he was incredibly handsome — without a doubt the most handsome man she’d ever seen — but he was her fucking coworker, and she’d be damned if made that mistake again.

Persephone turned around. “Yeah?”

He wasn’t even looking at her. He was still reading. “What are you doing up so late?”

She crossed her arms, the keys jingling in her hand. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmm... cliffhanger... let me know if you liked it - i hope you did <3


	3. joyriding

“I’m going to the garage,” Persephone answered.

Loki snapped his book shut. “For what?”

She rolled her eyes. “To look for ghosts. I’m going to see which car Tony gave me, you twit.”

He crossed his arms. “Who are you calling a twit, mortal?”

She peered into the lounge and made a show of looking around. “I don’t see anyone else here but you.”

“Oh, then I shall wake up Thor, and you can tell him what you told me. And then you’ll be right.”

“Look, I’m not going to stand here all night and role-play bickering siblings with you because Thor has the sense to go to sleep. I’m going out, are you coming or not?”

“Did you say role-play?”

Persephone groaned and walked away, heading downstairs to the lobby where she took the elevator to the basement garage. The floodlights came on, illuminating Tony’s insane arsenal of cars, motorcycles, and everything in between. “Holy shit.” She pressed the unlock button on the key fob, and the headlights for a red Ferrari 458 glowed on. She raced toward it, the soles of her sneakers slapping the concrete of the garage in her excitement. “Oh, no fucking way.”

“You Midgardians and your automobiles,” Loki commented, appearing behind her. She finally noticed that he was dressed in what appeared to be his nightwear, black silk pants and a black t-shirt.

“This car,” Persephone said, running a hand over the hood, “is the finest Italian craftsmanship on earth.”

“One would argue that Lamborghini is superior.”

She turned to him, face contorted in shock. “What-“

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. I am a God, not an imbecile.”

“Who said you couldn’t be both?” Persephone asked, leaving him standing in the middle of the garage. She got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. It roared to life before quieting to a menacing purr; she relaxed into the leather and inhaled. It was brand new. Never in her imagination did she ever see herself in the car that she and Alexander had dreamed of. Fuck you, Alex.

“Who is this Alex?” Loki asked, putting his seatbelt on.

She snapped out of her trance, hands gripping the steering wheel. “Did you- did you just read my mind?”

Loki chuckled. “I can’t read minds, I’m not a witch.”

“Then why are you dressed like one?” She put the car in drive. “Hold on tight.” She floored the gas pedal, and they shot out of the garage faster than Heimdall could open the Bifrost.

“Hey! I do not,” he said through clenched teeth. Persephone made a sharp turn and he lurched sideways. “I am... trying... to accustom... myself... to your miserable planet! And for the record, I simply heard you talking to yourself!”

She snorted, and took a hairpin turn at full speed. “Miserable is right. What was Asgard like?”

Loki was stunned, to say the least. “An odd thing to say, considering you fight for this planet. Asgard was far superior.”

“I bet. I fight to live. Always have been, always will be. I have no place here. I fight for that, too.” She merged onto the turnpike and gunned the engine.

“I was the same way on Asgard,” he said, looking out of the passenger side window and watching the dark shapes of the trees blend into one another. “Beautiful place, but I felt I was never welcome. Even before I learned my true heritage.”

“You’re not Asgardian?” she asked. The cruise control was on and no one else was around for miles so she took the liberty of glancing at him. He was regal, without a doubt, but something about his face was off. She knew because she saw the same look in her own. Discontent. Restlessness. Fear. Anger. Self-loathing. Worry.

“Not necessarily. You do not know the story?”

She shook her head, and laughed; he noted that this sound was more bitter and less sweet. “We didn’t really have time for stories in the Army.”

“The Army? Why would a woman such as yourself ever choose battle over domesticity?”

“That was never an option for me, I suppose.” The car beeped, and the fuel icon signaled that the tank was almost empty. “Fuck.”

“We must stop to refuel, I assume?”

She nodded, moving the car into the exit ramp. “Yeah. We can sit at the gas station, I think I need a break from driving.”

—

They sat at a table outside of a White Castle, sharing a carton of mozzarella sticks.

“Careful, they’re hot,” Persephone said. She took a sip of the single cup of root beer Loki had been reluctant to try.

“Mortal, I am a god,” he replied, and took a bite before promptly spitting it out. “Norns almighty.”

“Mortal,” she said, mocking his accent, “I am a twit.”

“Are you always so insufferable?”

Another sip of the root beer. “Only when I speak.”

He shook his head, but he was smiling. He pointed his half-bitten mozzarella stick at her. “You know, I see quite a bit of myself in you.”

This was met with a raised eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Your tone suggests you know.”

“My tone suggests that I still don’t know who you are.”

“And I intend to keep it that way. For your sake.”

She scoffed. “I’m a big girl. I can protect myself.”

He leaned in ever so slightly, blue eyes locking with violet. “Is that so?”

She followed his movement, the straw falling out of her mouth. “What did you mean a while ago, when you said a woman such as myself?”

“On Asgard,” he said, “You would have been mine.”

At that, she backed away, breaking eye contact. Then she began to laugh.

“What is so funny?”

“I don’t belong to anyone. I made that mistake a long time ago, and I kept making it to the point where it was a choice.”

“And why was it a repeated mistake?”

“The first one was being born into an orphanage. When I was a kid I ran away to go to school. Sold myself to pay for it. Then I gave my life to the Army. Killed myself to get into Delta Force. You know how hard it was to do that, being me? Then I fell in love with another soldier. After he got into Delta Force, after everything I did to help him, he left me. Then he turned the Unit against me, and now here I am. Nothing left.”

“You… sold yourself? I hardly think that you are as low as a common whore.”

“Please call them sex workers, Loki, and no, I didn’t. I had people run experiments on me. That’s how I turned out to be the freak I am now. In exchange, I was able to turn the tables on my own life. It could be a lot worse than it is.”

“But you are alone now.”

“And so are you.”

“You do not have to be… After all, you are an Avenger now.”

“Oh, am I? Or am I nothing more than their new puppy? A trained dog. All I know how to do is kill.”

“Nonsense. If there is morality in me, then it is in you, as well.”

“I think… I think we should get going.”

Loki nodded. “If that is what you wish.”

She put her hand in his, only to drop the Ferrari keys in his palm. “You can drive us back.”

—

The mortal is quite endearing when she sleeps, Loki thought as he let his magic take control of the car. At least her mouth is shut.

Poor little thing. She might as well be a caged bird.

He knew all too well what it was like to be overlooked. Forgotten. Forced to prove herself.

Then again, he wasn’t looking for pity. Neither was she.

They just both wanted a place in this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> removed the slow burn tag because i realized that it is awful


	4. smorgasbord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writer's block sucks :/

“So,” Tony said. He finished his coffee in two gulps, and set it in the sink. “Has anyone seen the kid?” He looked at the Avengers currently with him in the breakroom: Thor, Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Bruce. it was pretty clear that Stark had taken a liking to the girl. After she’d handed Sam’s ass to him, Tony took her aside to talk to her. He told her that she was there for a reason, said that any mistakes she made brought her to Earth’s mightiest heroes, and then handed her the keys to his Ferrari, telling her to take care of it. The look on her face was priceless.

The team looked at him with the equivalent of a collective shrug. Clint tapped his ear to signal that his hearing aids weren’t in. Tony resisted the urge to ask him why he showed up if he wasn’t even listening. Natasha, still dressed in her pajamas, got up to go look for them as Steve and Bruce began to discuss where their ward could have gone off to.

“HE IS ASKING IF WE HAVE SEEN LADY PERSEPHONE,” Thor enunciated, holding one hand over his eyepatch so it wouldn’t fall out. It was useless, so he put it in the pocket of his grey zip-up hoodie — which matched his Thor-themed sweatpants that Bruce gifted him.

Dr. Banner sighed. “Thor, how many times do I have to tell you that that doesn’t work?”

Thor frowned. “Can’t Clint read lips? I thought, you know, given his… eyesight… Who was it that told me that other human senses get stronger when one sense is weakened?”

“I can,” said Clint. “Just not when you yell. I’m going to go help Nat.” He got up and headed upstairs to the west wing.

Tony shook his head and clapped his hands twice. “Okay, FRIDAY, show me security footage from last night.”

The AI system pulled up a holographic screen, showing Loki driving the Ferrari and parking it perfectly back in its spot, from several different camera angles. “Persephone and Loki arrived this morning, Mr. Stark. They are currently asleep in the garage lounge. Shall I wake them?”

“No. Pull up garage lounge cameras.” The screen switched to a real-time view of Persephone, evidently curled up against the god. They seemed to have pushed the two chaises together to make a bed, and in the middle of the night must have lost sense of their boundaries. His arm was around her shoulder and both of them were still wearing shoes. It was sort of difficult to tell who was who since both of them had the same hair, but one of them was much smaller.

“It’s a miracle he hasn’t stabbed her yet,” Thor quipped. His smile was so wide no one could see his eyes, and his dimples were like craters in the moon. “I am happy my brother is happy.”

“I beg your pardon?” Steve asked, crossing his arms. “Thor—“

“Oh, have I not told you the story about the snake?”

“You haven’t heard the snake story?!” Bruce exclaimed. In his excitement he crushed the apple in his hand. “Thor, tell him the story!”

Thor chuckled and nodded his head, gently pushing Bruce back into his seat. “Now, Steve, there was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, ‘Blaah, it’s me!’ and he stabbed me.” He paused for effect. “We were eight at the time.”

Steve’s eyes widened, and he turned to where Bruce and Tony were sitting. “Are you sure we can leave Persephone alone with Loki?”

Tony was already gone, his swivel chair spinning in his wake.

“IronDad activated, I suppose,” Bruce laughed. 

“What? Did Tony go to the garage?” Thor asked. Before anyone could answer, he added, “I will go check on my brother.”

—

Persephone had not slept like that in years. Not since she became Delta Force, not since she joined the Army, not since she went to West Point, not since all those experiments they ran on her, and not even since she was a child. She had been plagued with night terrors, sleep paralysis, and the general lack of ability to stay unconscious, and this led to her actual fear of going to sleep. But somehow she’d drifted off in the Ferrari, and Loki decided it was best not to drag her all the way back to the room. Of course, he could have always teleported her there, but no one would realize that. She looked so peaceful, and he couldn’t help himself, and he was so tired, and he gave in.

He slept next to her.

He, too, had trouble sleeping, and it was safe to conclude that this trouble did not bother him that night. No nightmares, no feeling like he was falling into the void again, no visions of Thanos or the Chitauri, no sickness or nausea or feeling like he was being mind-controlled again. As he was falling asleep, he noted that she had a peculiar smell that no Midgardian he had ever come across had, enhanced or not. In all honesty, it reminded him of his mother, may her soul rest in peace. Persephone’s skin was also much colder than a regular mortal’s, which was incredible because he was always uncomfortable, even at room temperature. Another reason to hate being a frost giant, but another reason to... like the mortal beside him.

They were still sleeping when Thor and Tony came barging into the garage lounge. Loki’s eyes immediately snapped open, and he turned to glare at the intruders, a silent command for them to be quiet. Of course he had to be the one with the most manners in this damned facility.

Tony shrugged acquiescently. “She looks like she’s out cold to me. Probably her first good sleep in a while. Poor kid. I know what PTSD’s like.” Then he went back upstairs.

“Don’t we all,” Loki muttered through a scowl. Persephone shifted in his arms with a sigh. He cradled her as one does with a newborn baby, complete with the gentle rocking and shushing.

Thor smiled at his brother, striding over to the makeshift bed. He squatted down so he was eye level with the other god. “I am happy you have found a partner, brother.”

Loki’s grip automatically tightened on the girl. How she was still asleep when his large brother’s voice was ricocheting around in the room was a question he could not answer. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” he hissed.

Thor lowered his voice to as close to a whisper as he could muster. “It’s obvious. You like her, brother.”

“I am merely fond of the mortal. She is not as displeasurable to be around as the rest of you.”

Thor gave his brother a pointed look. “Loki, you know you can tell me.”

“That what? That I wish to protect her from the cruelty of humanity? That I feel as though our very souls are intertwined? That she will be mine? I will never.”

Thor shook his head, the smile still on his face as he stood up. “But will you tell her?”

“Of course not, don’t be so stupid.”

The smile faded. Thor rested a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “You deserve to be happy, brother.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “No mortal could make me happy, you fool. They are too impermanent.”

Thor walked away, but turned around at the doorframe. “Good thing she is not a mortal, then.”

“Out with you already!” Loki spat. This was what ultimately woke Persephone up.

She squirmed, and he immediately relaxed his hold on her. She rubbed her eyes before slowly blinking them open, trying to take in her surroundings. Then she noticed the god beside her. She yelped, and her jumpiness was enough to send her rolling off the side of the fake bed. “Jesus Christ! Where are we? What time is it?”

“In the garage, mortal. It is time for you to be awake. You fell asleep in the car. I didn’t want to wake you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. She was still on the floor, so he offered her a hand to help her up. “Why didn’t you take me to my room? Can’t you, like, teleport or something?”

Loki crossed his arms. “How did you know I can do that?”

“I didn’t, but I do now,” she grinned. He mirrored that look on her face as he reached out and grabbed her. She screamed, and in a flash they teleported into her room. 

“There. I have taken you to your room. Are you happy?”

“Very.” Persephone laid on her bed, leaning on her back but supported by her elbows. She was breathing hard. Her hair was fanned out beneath her, and she was staring at Loki. He would be damned to Hel for lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to kiss her then. Or at least reach out and touch her. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t kiss me. I can tell you’re tempted.”

“How do you know this?”

“Because, God of Lies, you just admitted it,” she said, a gentle, teasing smile on her face. She stood up, barely a foot away from him. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And because I want to, too.”

Loki immediately tried to close the gap, but she was too quick. She stepped away and put a hand against his chest for good measure. He saw her face disappear and turn into the same black nothingness it did when she was sparring Sam. The Phantom. She had no idea she’d done it. She was too busy focusing all her conscious energy into ignoring — or at least trying to ignore — the way he felt underneath her fingertips. “Woman, you-“

Persephone shook her head. Her face reappeared from the void. “I feel it too. I just want to do it right. Not like this.”

His brow furrowed. “You are referring to what happened with that Alexander fellow, I assume.”

“Mhmm. Last mistake I‘ll make in my life... Loki... have you ever been in love before?”

The way she said his name made his insides thaw. Loki shook his head. “It will not be, and we both know that. Does the tesseract count?”

He got another laugh from her. “No, silly. Being in love is nice. But it can turn you into a monster. It made me confused. That’s why I’m all over the place right now, on top of everything that’s going on. I just lost my entire life and everyone in it. I don’t know who I am anymore. It’s embarrassing. I’ve killed people with my bare hands before. Now I don’t know if I could even bring myself to hold a gun. I’m scared. Everything I’ve been running from is catching up to me. You know that feeling, don’t you?”

“I do. I wish I could give you answers, little human,” Loki murmured. He felt her skin starting to heat up, just from her standing close to him. “And help you mend whatever ails you within.”

He was caught by surprise when she wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”

Awkwardly, he petted her hair with one hand, the other finding its way around her shoulders. “For what?”

“Showing me kindness. It’s not like you have to.” Her voice was muffled in his chest; he felt her breathe against him. He was certain this was bad. Very bad. “You could have treated me like the monster I am.”

“I could say the same to you,” he said, continuing to pet her. Was she enjoying that? She had not let go yet.

She looked up at him. “Will you?”

He shook his head with a smile. “Absolutely not.”

She looked back down. He felt her shoulders shake, and before he heard her distinct giggle he feared he’d made the poor girl cry. “You know what’s weird?”

“What?”

“I don’t flinch when you touch me.”

—

“Kid,” Tony called when he saw Persephone walk into the lab. “Come here.”

She paled ever so slightly, but the color returned to her face with a vengeance when she realized Bruce and Peter were staring at her. They all exchanged slightly awkward pleasantries. “Yes, Tony?”

Peter frowned. “Wait, Mr. Stark, why does she get to call you Tony if you still call her kid?”

Tony lowered his glasses. “Because she has a bachelor’s degree and you don’t even have a diploma.”

“Watch, Mr. Stark. I’m gonna get into MIT,” he said, and went back to modifying his web shooters.

Tony asked Persephone how she was doing so far, resisting the urge to say anything about him seeing her cuddling up to the man who once tried to control his mind. He had to remind himself that she was an adult, albeit a baby-faced one, and she could make her own choices, no matter how terrible — or how much he disapproved. It wasn’t like he was really her dad. She said things were fine, fine, everyone was okay; she also didn’t mention Loki because she was still incredibly confused no matter how much she knew she was drawn to the god. So she left it at that.

“And your room? Doesn’t feel like home, yet, I assume.”

She laughed, but it came out rather scoff-like. “I’ve never had a home, so I couldn’t tell you what it feels like.”

“You could furnish it, that’d be a start. Decorate it and whatnot. Order whatever online, charge it on my card.”

“D’ya think… uh.. could I go out? Like, to IKEA or something?”

“You know what IKEA is?”

“I lived overseas, not under a rock, Tony.”

“You’re lippy. I’ll switch the Ferrari keys with something a little more suburban. You can bring Norway and Sweden with you.”

“Loki and Thor?”

“Duh, Sherlock. I thought you graduated cum laude?”

—

“Thor, are you okay back there?” Persephone asked while trying to reverse the car into a parking spot, eyeing the god of thunder in the rear view mirror of the G-wagon Tony said she could have for herself. She almost cried right there and then.

He was sprawled in the back seat with his arms behind his head. “Most certainly! I cannot believe no one told me sooner that there is a store for Norse furniture. Did you know that Ikea means ‘chair’ in Swedish?”

“No, you idiot.” Loki rolled his eyes as they got out of the car. “It’s a… an… acronym, yes. It stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. Ingvar Kamprad is the founder. Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd is his hometown.”

“And how would you know that? Don’t you only care about witchcraft?”

“I AM NOT A WITCH!”

“Please, can we keep the fighting to a minimum? I’m just here to buy a couch.”

She did not just buy a couch.

“I am hungry,” Thor announced as Persephone and Loki argued over what color wood would look best in her bedroom, the walls of which were painted black and the floors a light grey birch wood.

She ran a hand through her hair rather aggressively, fingernails scratching her scalp. “Thor, please, can it wait? Morgana here doesn’t think this black one will look good in my room.”

“Your room is already black, you naive little forest animal. Pick a different color.”

“I’m sorry King Midas, not everyone can have gold furniture!”

Loki put his hands on his hips. “I’ll have you know that—“

“DID YOU HEAR ME? I’M HUNGRY,” Thor practically roared, gaining the attention of the entire bedroom department. He realized that all eyes were on him and waved at the onlookers. A few girls came up to him, asking for a picture.

“Okay, I think we should eat,” Persephone acquiesced when the last girl had left. “I’m hungry.”

“You two are both children,” Loki said, although he was starting to walk away.

She crossed her arms. “Aren’t you Thor’s younger brother?”

“Adopted.”

Thor came up from behind and wrapped his massive arms around Loki. “You’re my brother nonetheless!”

“Put me down, you quim!”

Several arguments about directions later, they found themselves situated at the IKEA cafeteria, with their plates of Swedish meatballs and glasses of lingonberry juice.

“They do not have this on Asgard.”

“That’s because Asgard doesn’t exist anymore.”

“And who resurrected Surtur?”

“I did it to save you!”

Persephone didn’t realize how tightly ahe was holding her glass. It cracked in her hand. The two stopped arguing. “Please... please, can I take us back now?”

Loki immediately magicked away the glass shards, putting his hand over her bleeding palm to heal her cut. Her fingers instinctively wrapped around him. He pulled his hand away.

Only Thor saw the blush appear on his pale skin.

—

“This Expedit,” Loki said, using his seidr to screw a bolt in, “means ‘shop assistant’.”

“It’s a bookcase,” she replied matter-of-factly, staring at the newly-decorated wall. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. “No, Thor, that frame is crooked.”

Thor planted his foot on the desk to try and reach the poster of a forest, to which the other two murderers in the room yelled for him to step off.

“That Micke is for books, not your enormous body!”

“Micke is short for Mikael.”

“Loki!” Thor and Persephone cried out in exasperation.

After hours of “manually” assembling Persephone’s furniture and dragging everything into its place, they celebrated over two bags (one for Thor) of more IKEA frozen meatballs — microwaved, of course — with lingonberry jam and gravy. Incidentally, this also meant that Thor had too much to drink and retired early, leaving Persephone alone with the god of mischief for the first time since that morning.

“You know, Thor may not be allowed to break your desk, but I can certainly break your bed,” Loki muttered. He was staring at her from across the table.

Persephone rolled her eyes, but beneath the table her leg was bouncing uncontrollably. “Not a chance, mister. You can sleep with me if you’d like, but nothing else.”

“What— oh, you meant actually sleeping… right?”

Her cheeks turned red. “Of course.”

“Then I shall take you up on your offer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please comment and let me know what you'd like to see (within reason - i'm looking at you, russo brothers)


	5. the void

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're ramping it up...

Loki and Persephone had taken to each other quite well, and in a very short amount of time. They all but spoke to no one but each other, and it was quite intriguing. When Persephone wasn’t training with Thor, Steve, Nat, Bucky, and Sam, and when Loki wasn’t in the library, they would be found together. Usually they were watching television, as Loki had no clue what it was and Persephone hadn’t every really been afforded that luxury. Other times they would be in the kitchen, eating whatever junk food Persephone bought that day. Loki preferred Cheetos Puffs, much to her delight.

Once, Bucky walked in on them in one of the TV rooms. Persephone had fallen asleep on Loki, and he was playing with her hair as The Breakfast Club played in the background. Thor was ecstatic.

It was all anyone in the compound could talk about — when the two weren’t within earshot, of course. Tony and Bruce would frequently watch them on FRIDAY’s surveillance system. This also included listening in on their conversations when they should have been working on how to stop Thanos.

“You are too warm, mortal,” Loki said, not looking up from his book, which was propped up on the shoulder of a certain Phantom. Her head was in his lap, her knees tucked up against his thigh.

She rolled over so her face was buried against his abdomen. “Trying to sleep, alien.”

“Then go to the bed I so painstakingly helped you assemble.”

“It’s too far.”

“I will teleport you there if I have to.”

“But I like it here.”

“You find the position you’re in comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Well it is not comfortable for me.”

“Too bad. Why are you so cold? Thor told me you’re a—“

“Say it. I dare you.”

“Vampire.”

...

“Loki,” Persephone called to the god sitting at the counter as she closed another kitchen cabinet.

He looked up from his book on the Zodiac Killer. “Hm?”

“I’m hungry.”

“For the last time, I am not going to conjure you a cheeseburger.”

“Please? I’ll show you my Phantom face again.”

“What if I accompany you to wherever it is you want to buy a cheeseburger from?”

“Deal. I’m driving.”

“You’re the only one who has a license to drive between the two of us.”

...

Loki turned off the TV. “Persephone.”

“Did you just say my actual name?”

“Yes.” He shook his head. “That is not important.”

“What do you want? I’m trying to sleep.”

“I’m... bored.”

“And? You’re a god.”

He nudged her so as to make her sit up. “I want you to show me what you can do. All of it.”

“I don’t even know if I can.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know all of it. My powers are unpredictable and I’ve only been able to control some of them. The Phantom face, yeah. The shadow ability, mostly. But some of them just pop up and I don’t know how to bring them back.”

“May I try something?”

“As long as you promise not to stab me.”

“You have my word. Your hand, please.”

She extended a hand out to him and he clasped it between both of his own. In an instant, he was able to see her memories. Even the ones she’d repressed.

“Have you ever thought about the meaning of your name? Persephone? ‘Destroyer of light’? Do you think you could—“

“Absorb light energy and spit it back out kinetically? Maybe.”

“You did cause that power outage here several weeks ago.”

“I can do it again if you keep this up. Loki, some things, I’m fine with not knowing.”

“You don’t want to know the truth?”

This was when the attacks started.

Alarms blared throughout the compound, and Tony and Bruce sprung into action from their seats at FRIDAY’s control monitors.

“EVERYBODY, ON THE QUINJET!” Tony’s voice rang out through the intercom.

In her haste, Persephone managed to fall off of the couch where she and Loki were previously sprawled on, and become tangled in the cashmere blanket the god had provided her. Loki turned around and rushed toward her. As soon as his hand made contact with her, he teleported them to the landing bay.

Thor caught sight of his brother and friend and herded them into the Quinjet just as its boarding ramp was closing. Everyone strapped in as Natasha and Clint piloted them to the city as fast as possible.

“FRIDAY, debrief,” Steve said. He took his shield and strapped it onto his back.

“Chitauri ships have been spotted above Manhattan.”

“Jesus Christ, again?” Bruce groaned. He took his glasses off and put them in his shirt pocket before running his hands through his hair.

“This one is not my fault,” Loki chuckled.

“Not this time,” Clint muttered, eyes trained on the city skyline.

Persephone elbowed Loki’s side gently. “Hey,” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“How did you even get away from Thanos?”

“I used the Tesseract to free myself. Very long story.”

“Do you still have it?”

He smirked, and pressed a finger to his lips. Persephone smiled back.

“Alright, battle plan,” Tony announced, his voice booming through the Quinjet’s speakers. Several of the Avengers jumped at the sudden intrusion. He was already in Manhattan, surveying the damage done. “Hulk, smash. Clint, Nat, I want you up on Stark Tower for a good vantage point. I should have some weapons for you two stocked there. You’ll know where to find them. Thor and Steve, Fifth Avenue is almost FUBAR, so you guys take it from there.”

“What about the ships?” Persephone asked.

“I was getting there, let me finish, kid, jeez. Bucky, Sam and I will take the ships down.”

“Wait, what about me and Loki?”

“You two stay in the Quinjet and let the professionals show you how it’s done.”

They did not stay in the Quinjet.

“Do you know your way around here?” Persephone asked, trailing behind Loki as he strode down Madison Avenue. She was still in her civilian clothes and too focused on breaking the rules with the God of Mischief to remember to morph into her stealth suit.

“I’ve only seen this place from above, I’m afraid.”

Then they heard a very familiar yell.

“Hey! Miss Phantom! Mr. Loki!

Peter came swinging down from a light post.

“Suit looks different, kid,” she commented. “Stark didn’t fit you with a new one?”

“Mr. Stark took it away because he wants me to focus on school.”

“Spider child, shouldn’t you be in school?” Loki asked.

“Yeah, but I had Ned pull the fire alarm— oh!”

An Outrider leapt into the air and tackled Peter to the ground. He’d been distracted enough for his spidey-senses to alert him. More of the Chitauri dogs gathered on top of him and the first one.

Persephone moved to help Peter but Loki held her back. When he turned, she was gone.

At the top of the dog pile stood the Phantom, wielding an obsidian machete with a jagged blade. She hacked at the Outriders one at a time, and the more she killed, the more the faint black glow around her silhouette grew. “Peter, hang in there!”

Loki shook his head. “Incorrigible mortal.” 

His black suit changed into his Asgardian battle armor in a flash of green light. He conjured his daggers and stood just outside the pack, casting them towards the dogs with his magic. He thought it useless to get his hands dirty, and busied the rest of his mental energies with thinking of how to save the boy.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble. He broke concentration, yet the daggers continued to fly.

“Mr. Loki! What’s going on?” Peter hollered. The protective web cocoon he’d wrapped himself in was beginning to thin out.

“This isn’t me!” Loki yelled back, moving away from the cracks blossoming in the asphalt.

“Peter, get ready!” Persephone called. She was already beside Loki, her Phantom face no longer in the fore and the hood of her suit pulled down.

He turned to her. “What are you doing?”

“You better pray to your gods this works. I’ve only ever done this once before.”

“I am my only god, silly girl.”

With that, she shut her eyes and began to focus. In a matter of seconds, a black void opened where Peter was trapped and the remaining Outriders fell into the darkness.

“Did you just… did you sacrifice the boy?”

She frowned. “Of course not. I’m no traitor.”

“Your former troop would say otherwise.”

“Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

Before Loki could hurl another jibe at her, his attention was grabbed by the web that had just stuck onto the taxicab beside him. The void was closing rapidly.

“Peter, climb out! I can’t hold it much longer!”

“I’m coming!” he cried.

“Loki, help him!”

The god grabbed onto the end of the web and yanked it, jerking Peter through the narrow opening just as it snapped shut. Persephone’s knees buckled. Loki caught her before she hit the ground.

“Spider child, get on the Quinjet. I will take care of her.”

“Okay,” Peter said, out of breath. He took off running nonetheless. He shot a web up onto a traffic light and slung his way back to the Avengers’ aircraft.

Loki held the girl in one arm, putting his other hand over her forehead. He muttered an incantation and she was conscious once more. “Are you alright? Does your head hurt?” he asked, worry lines appearing on his face.

She nodded slowly. “I’m… I’m fine. Thank you.”

He pinched her cheek. “That was impressive, I have to say.”

Up above, the ships showed no sign of slowing down.

Her Phantom face returned, and the hood came back on. “What do we do? We have to help them.”

Loki nodded once. “We must blow them up, clearly. It will stop the Chitauri from multiplying.”

She turned to him. Loki found it slightly unnerving that he was looking into pure nothingness. “But what about Bucky and Sam and Tony?”

“Leave that to me.”

Her face flickered back to her human form for a split second. “Wait, you want me to be the one to blow it up?”

“What better opportunity to see what you can do?”

“Wait—“ she began to protest, but it was too late. Loki took her by the hand and teleported her to the landing pad of Stark Tower.

“God, Loki, warn me next time you do that!” Persephone grumbled. He brushed her off with a laugh.

“What are you two doing here?” Natasha asked.

“Taking down the ship. Can you inform the rest of the team to clear the way? Neither Persephone nor I have the communication line to do so,” Loki said.

Natasha scowled. “And why should I be listening to you?”

“Nat, please, we need to do this now,” Persephone pleaded. Her eyes were already closed tight. The ground began to tremble as it did before, but this time much more intensely.

“What’s going on?” Clint asked, ceasing fire.

Natasha held a finger to her ear. “Boys, back off the ship. we’re trying something new.” She cringed as the protests came in. “No, seriously, move, NOW.”

Loki caught sight of Tony and Sam flying away, with the latter carrying Bucky. “Persephone, now.”

All the power in the city went out. Her hands began to glow with black energy until her entire body was enveloped in it. The next thing everyone knew, a black hole swallowed up the Chitauri swarm.

There were no survivors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what else you'd like to see! comments prevent my ever-present writer's block :)


End file.
